Early Childhood Education Degrees

Overview

Dealing with young children requires a lot of patience and understanding. Elementary and pre-school teachers have to take up a course or a degree to be able to handle kids from three to eight years old. Early childhood education degrees are designed to provide you with the ability to handle very young children, imparting education to them as well as pushing you higher up the career ladder, with a boost in the salary. Before embarking on an educational degree in early childhood education, it is always advisable to check if the school that you are working with, is accredited. Degrees are offered in different levels: certificate programs and associates, bachelor and master levels, as well as doctoral programs.

Benefits

People with the skills and ability to understand and handle very young children are too few, therefore always in demand. Early childhood education degrees focuses on imparting such skills to people, thereby proving to be a valuable set of tools that makes the person more employable.

The job responsibilities are high, because it involves shaping a person's life early in their life. Career options for this line of education include working as a childcare worker, pre-school teacher, elementary teacher, or an education administrator. People with master's degrees can also start working as a post-secondary teacher. The median income for childcare administrators is around $35,000, while elementary school principals report an average income of $74,000. Preschool teachers earn an average annual income of around $21,000. Public school teachers in kindergarten and elementary grades have an earning potential of approximately $41,500 to $46,000 per year.

Costs

The cost of a two-year, associate's degree in early childhood education is around $6,000. A bachelor's degree in this line of education is for 4 years and costs anywhere between $12,000 and $20,000, depending on the school. The time taken to finish the master's degree is a little more than two years, including fieldwork and it costs about $15,600. The costs of certificate and doctoral programs are dependent on the school.

Schools

Schools that offer an arts degree in child development and childcare and education are Ashford University, Walden University and Western Governors University. University of Phoenix offers master's degree in early childhood education, apart from elementary and secondary education. Some schools like Walden University offer a dual degree that focuses on early and elementary education.

Testing & Preparation

A high school degree or diploma is required to enroll for an associate's degree. Furthermore, each school may have its own form of assessing prospective students through stress tests and personality analysis reports due to the fragile nature of this job. A bachelor's degree requires a high school degree and sometimes, an accompanying associate's degree. Spoken English can be assessed by Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). An undergraduate degree and relevant experience in the field are the requirements for a master's degree.

Financial Aid

There are financial aid opportunities available in every university that offers early childhood education as a degree. Grants, loans, funds, and payment plans are available besides financial aid and scholarship, varying from college to college. The respective university websites can be accessed for more information, for instance Ashford University, Walden University, Western Governors University, and University of Phoenix. You can also get federal aid, grants, loans, and scholarships such as the Federal Student Aid, Pell Grants, and Stafford Student Loans.